Chinese Teen Sells Kidney to Get iPad

A teenager in China sold his kidney so he could buy an Apple iPad 2 tablet computer, reports the BBC, citing a Chinese source.

The 17-year-old high school student, whom a local television station refers to only as Little Zheng, told the station that he had arranged the kidney sale online. The BBC points out that the black market of organ donation is booming, even though authorities banned it in 2007.

Zheng reportedly responded to an online ad offering money for organs. An operation was arranged illegally at a hospital, and the boy earned $3,392 for his trouble, with which he bought an iPad 2 and a laptop. His mother alerted authorities after noticing his new toys and a red scar on her son from the kidney operation.